There's something to be said when the lyrics fit too well.

inthesto · Post by **inthesto** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:52 am

So I just finished watching Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, and I am totally psyched about starting a new project using that with the song "Wasting My Time" by Default (no, I'm not particularly worried about anyone "stealing" my concept and would probably be relieved if somebody else would want to make this video in my stead). Now, if you're familiar with both the anime and the song, I think a review of the lyrics will basically piece the video together by itself. Now, with an anime and song that go hand-in-hand like this, life for the editor should be easy, right? Wrong. I have three concerns I'd like to voice and gather opinions on:

1. The literalness of the video would require prior viewing of the series in order to make any sense of it, which is something I try my hardest to avoid. (bring up my Air video, and I will gut you)
2. The video would basically be a re-telling of the original series, which is kind of boring. (not "kills the video" boring, but is kind of half a strike on the record ) (bring up my Air video, and I will gut you)
3. Most of the lyrics would be taken quite literally, which is kind of a turn-off; I personally think lyrics should require some wordplay or out-of-the-box thought in order to be interpreted. (bring up my Air video, and I will tell you to stop dropping acid)

These self-projected hurdles are making me afraid to edit the video before it's even started.

Thoughts? Comments? Narcissism?

godix · Post by **godix** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:17 am

1) Yeah? And? Any video that goes for a plot beyond the superficial will require having seen the anime. Just mention that, first thing, in the video description and forget about it.

2) <a href="http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members ... 84">Angels Redemption 2</a> does this and it's still one of the best drama videos I've seen.

3) Many decent videos use literal lyric sync. If it works it works. Besides, if it requires having seen the series to understand the video like you say then I suspect the lyric sysnc is less literal than you think.

If worse comes to worse ask someone who you know will be honest to beta thing first. They'll let you know if you went to far with literal lyric sync I'm sure.

Say, what about your Air video?

Knowname · Post by **Knowname** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 11:39 am

It took me 2 hours to rip/ lay out my clips on this 5 minute video here cuz it's INCREDIBLY lyrical (and in chronological order... weird)

As a side note this video has a perfect 10.0 in originality though Akira most deffiniteley is not original but the use of lyrical sinc is just incredible... no I don't op exchange so these opinions are not likeley to be biased in any way, in fact I shamelessly promote like this so ops are more likeley to be worse! Their not, that's why I LOVE to shamelessly promote lol. Lateley I've gotten a large handfull (all but 1) of reviews from ppl with vids I reviewed, sorta' like an op exchange but not one I asked for or seeked out (525 reviews I'm bound to hit a few)... anyway when I review I rip them a new one! lol

silver_moon · Post by **silver_moon** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:36 pm

I think that if the lyrics of the song are meant in a literal way, then it's ok to sync to them literally. But if they were meant figuratively, it's definitely best to show the lyrics figuratively in the video as well, especially in dramas.

For example, if the lyrics say "One day I was walking down the street" you can show a character walking down a street, but if the lyrics are something like "I was walking down the street known as life" then showing someone walking down a street = bad because that's not the way the song meant it.

Just my 2 cents.

Pwolf · Post by **Pwolf** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:46 pm

silver_moon wrote: but if the lyrics are something like "I was walking down the street known as life" then showing someone walking down a street = bad because that's not the way the song meant it.

well, not nessesarily. i think that depends on how the rest of the video is edited. using "Walking down the street of life" with a scene of someone walking down a street can be quite powerful given that you've edited the rest of the video in a way that would make sense. the actual visuals in the scene are litteral, but the meaning behind it would most likely by metaphoric.

Pwolf

Flint the Dwarf · Post by **Flint the Dwarf** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:37 pm

Well put, pwolf.

As for being literal, I think it's something that should be done cautiously. For example, having a character jump every time the word "jump" is mentioned gets a little tacky. As pwolf implied, it's good to have a nice mix of metaphorical with the literal, so it's not too predictable. If you find yourself being too literal, throw in some random scene that looks pretty. Chances are some over-analytical person will interpret that as a profound metaphorical statement, and you've won yourself a fan. Mix it up a little, but not too much.

Knowname wrote:this is teh thread where i talk about myself rite???

gb2/lj/

inthesto · Post by **inthesto** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:45 pm

Flint the Dwarf wrote:For example, having a character jump every time the word "jump" is mentioned gets a little tacky.

ASM, eh?

Bakadeshi · Post by **Bakadeshi** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:22 am

Pwolf wrote:
silver_moon wrote: but if the lyrics are something like "I was walking down the street known as life" then showing someone walking down a street = bad because that's not the way the song meant it.
well, not nessesarily. i think that depends on how the rest of the video is edited. using "Walking down the street of life" with a scene of someone walking down a street can be quite powerful given that you've edited the rest of the video in a way that would make sense. the actual visuals in the scene are litteral, but the meaning behind it would most likely by metaphoric.

Pwolf

True, while Silver_moon has a valid point, it does also depend on *how* its done. sometimes intentionally using Literal synch AS a way to depict something metaphoric can be quite powerfull if done correctly.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:14 pm

A literal sync with an underlying metaphor or deeper meaning, hmm that sounds like an interesting method Bakadeshi, do you know of any examples that may have done that successfully?

When inthesto mentioned Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, with the thread's title in mind, I thought this would be about the song Girlfriend in a Coma

aya_chani · Post by **aya_chani** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:59 pm

hmm.... I think if you watched the anime one time and started the project soon after it you don't need to review .. or do a quick review when you take parts for the mv ...
also do not stick to the song script .. I mean read it understand the general meaning ... then start to work according to it ... I watched several video's that stick to the song word by word .. it's dinda boring ...

well , that's it ..